This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
As will be appreciated, natural gas has a wide array of uses in industrial and commercial applications. For instance, natural gas may be used to provide power to a range of vehicles, to heat homes during winter, and to operate various consumer appliances, such as ovens or clothes dryers. Further, natural gas may be used to generate electricity for distribution over a power grid, and may be used in the manufacture of an array of products and materials, including glass, steel, and plastics, for example.
In order to meet the demand for natural gas, companies may spend a significant amount of time and resources searching for, extracting, and transporting natural gas. It will be appreciated that natural gas may be produced from oil fields, in which case the gas may be referred to as casinghead gas, or from natural gas fields. As may also be appreciated, transportation of such natural gas, such as through a pipeline from the production site to a consumer, is often facilitated by compression of the gas via a compressor.
One common type of compressor for such applications is the reciprocating compressor. Such reciprocating compressors are positive-displacement devices that generally utilize a crankshaft that is coupled to pistons, via connecting rods and crossheads, to reciprocally drive the pistons and compress a fluid within an attached cylinder. Reciprocating compressors typically include a frame that houses various internal components, such as the crankshaft. In one common type of reciprocating compressor, crosshead guides are coupled between compression cylinders and the frame, and may cooperate with the crankshaft to induce linear motion of the crossheads.
Operation of the reciprocating compressor results in a number of forces that are exerted on the compressor frame and the crosshead guides, including torque, coupled moments, unbalanced forces, and reciprocating loads. In order to compensate for such forces, the frames, the crosshead guides, and bolts for connecting the crosshead guides to a frame are often designed with additional size and weight. As will be appreciated, such designs result in higher manufacturing costs and increased installation difficulty.
There is a need, therefore, for a reciprocating compressor exhibiting increased stiffness of the frame and crosshead supports, while reducing the size and manufacturing costs associated with such a compressor.